Means for filtering, attemperating, and moistening or drying air.



No. 727,581. PATENTED MAY 12, 1903.

J. BRADY. MEANS FOR FILTERING, ATTEMPERATING, AND MOISTENIN 0R DRYING AIR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 19, 1901.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHBETS SHEET 1.

7/2722 ewes. JWZJFWILOK" n4: NORRIS urns co. Human-mu, WASHINGTON, u. c

PATENTED MAY 12, 1903. J. BRADY. MEANS FOR FILTERING, ATTEMPERATING, AND MOISTENING 10 MODEL.

m; NORRIS PETERS c0, HOYO-LITNO, WASHINGTON, n c,

UNlTED STATES Patented May 12, 1903 PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN BRADY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 727,581, dated May 12, 1903.

' Application filed June 19,1901. Serial No. 65,089. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN BRADY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia,

county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Means for Filtering, Attemperating, and Moistening or Drying Air, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the .accompanying drawings, which form a part of this breathing purposes and substantially uniform in the characteristics of purity, humidity, and temperature under widely-varying conditions of the outside air.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the whole apparatus applied to a railway-car. Fig. 2 is a partial plan view of the apparatus. Fig. 8 is a section through the chamber and box on the line 3 3 of Fig. 4.. Fig. at is a section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3.

A is the car.

B is an ice or steam box, C a chamber having staggered partitions c and filled with dustcollecting and moisture-absorbing material 0, D a main water-pipe, and D perforated branch water-pipes within the chamber 0, all suspended from the bottom of the car.

E is a blower located in the car.

F is an air-pipe leading from the exterior of the car to the blower.

G is an air-pipe leading from the blower to chamber 0.

H is an air-pipe leading from the chamber 0. This pipe is provided with two branches H and H both extending up through the floor of the car to the perforated air-pipe I, the last-named branch extending through box B and formed within said box into the coil K.

J is a steam-pipe connected with a source of steam-supply and extending through pipe I. Connecting box B with said source of steamsupply is a pipe K.

h and 71 are valves in branch pipes H and H respectively.

h is a valve in the pipe H.

k is a valve in steam-pipe K.

j is a valve in steam-pipe J.

L is a water-pipe connecting interior of box B with water-pipe D the latter being a pro longation of pipe D in chamber 0.

Z is a valve in pipe L.

M is a Water-tank carried on the car.

N is a water-pipe connecting tank M and pipe D and having the valve 'n.

D is a pipe-leading into tank 0, which is adapted to be connected with a hose leading to any exterior source of water-supply and is provided with a valve d The following mechanism is provided for operating the blower from the car-axles, regulating its speed, and causing it to travel al-, ways in the same-direction in Whichever direction the car may be traveling.

o is a bevel-gear on the axle O.

p is a bevel-gear on shaft P, this shaft being supported in bearings in a bracket P, supported on the truck.

Q is a sleeve splined on shaft P, so as to rotate with the same and be capable of movement longitudinally thereon.

R is a link pivoted at one end on sleeve Q and at the other end on the lower end of shaft S. The two pivots are at right angles to each other. The shaft S is supported in bearings on the car.

By the described connections between shaft S and shaft Pprovision is made for the twisting and movement up and down of the car-body relatively to the truck.

.9 is a friction-disk on shaft S.

T is a splined shaft extending through the blower E, thereby permitting the shaft T to be moved longitudinally.

if is a wheel on the end of the shaft T and in driving engagement with the face of the.

' municated through gears and p, shaft P,

sleeve Q, link R, shaft S, disk 3, wheel t, and shaftT to the blower E. The air is thus forced through pipes Fand G to chamber 0. The chamber is'filled with a material that will both collect the dust and absorb moisture. There is a variety of material that will answer the purpose. Coke, slag, and cinders are fairly efficient and have the advantage of being cheap and readily accessible to railroad companies. Cut sponge is a superior material, but more or less expensive. Asbestos wool and wool fiber are also suitable. Many other materials may by experiment be found satisfactory. As the air ,is forced through the material it deposits thereupon the particles of solid matter that it holds in suspension and emerges from the chamber 0 into pipe H practically free from dust and dirt. If the outside air has an ex cess of moisture, the material absorbs it and the air entering pipe H is comparatively dry. If the outside air is drier than is desirable to supply to the car, the water-pipes D and D7 are supplied with water from either the box B or tank M. The water escaping through the perforations in pipes D will moisten or saturate the whole mass of material. The excessively dry air as it passes through the moist material abstracts the moisture therefrom. The material is maintained in its moist condition by the water which constanty trickles through the perforations in pipes D.

The air that enters pipe H may be either too warm or too cool. If too warm, the box B is filled with ice, coldwater, or any suitable valve k and opening valves h and j.

refrigerating liquid or material, the Valve 7?. closed, the valve 7: opened, and the valve j closed. The air-cooling apparatus will thus be connected between the box 0 and the car, and the air will thus be cooled in its passage through box B and will pass through pipe I into the car in a cool condition, free from dust and dirt, and dry or humid, as desired. If the air entering pipe H is too cool, an airheating apparatus may be connected between the box 0 and the air in several different ways. The air may be warmed by closing This will cause the air to be heated in its passage through pipe I. The heating may also be effected by removing the ice in boxB and opening valves W, h, and j. The heating may also be elfected by removing the ice in box B and opening valves 71. h,j, and thus reheating the air that passes through pipe H and coil K. The heating may also be effected by removing the ice in box B and closing valve h and opening valves h ,j, and is, thus heating twice all the air that passes into the 'car. The pipe H may be entirely dispensed with and the heating effected by removing the ice in box B and opening valve H h and also either or both of valvesj and Z0.

Any heating apparatus already in use on railroad-cars for heating incoming air may be substituted for the perforated pipes I and steam-pipe j.

In case it is desired to both moisten and cool the air-supply the valvel on pipe L is opened and the valve it closed. The water from the melted ice then passes from. box B through pipe L into the pipes Band D and thence is deposited on the material in chamber 0. Of course this source of water-supply need not be relied upon. In many cases warm dry air may be sufficiently cooled by simply passing it through the dust-collecting material, provided the same is sufficiently moistened.

It is'occasionally necessary to flush the chamber 0, so as to remove the accumulation of dirt and water. This may be done when the car is at rest by connecting the pipe D with a flexible hose extending from an exterior tank, plug, trough, or other source of water-supply. To permit the egress ofthe dirt and water, I provide an outlet-pipe U,

having the valve u.

' It is desirable that it should be within the power of the conductor or porter to regulate the speed of rotation of the blower. This is accomplished very readily by sliding the shaft T through the blower, thus moving wheel 25 nearer to or farther from the center of disk .3. It is necessary that the blower shall revolve alwaysin one direction whether the car is going in one direction or the other. This I accomplish by sliding the shaft T so that the.

wheel is on one side or the other of the center of disk 8, dependent upon which direction the disk 3 is being rotated by the caraxle. It is obvious that the blower may be driven from a small motor instead of from the car-axle.

I do not limit myself to the details of structure shown, as the same method and system of mechanically purifying, heating, or cooling and moistening or drying may be carried out by and embodied in a variety of ways differing each from the other in immaterial details of structure.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination,with an apartment, of a filtering-chamber, an attemperating-chamber adapted to contain ice, a source of steamsupply, a valved pipe connecting said attemperating-chamber with the source of steamsupply, air-pipes in the apartment, a valved pipe leading from said source of steam-supply and extending within said apartment pipes, a pipe leading from said filtering-chamher, having two branches, one branch extending through the attemperating-chamber to the apartment-pipes, and another branch leading direct to the apartment-pipes.

2. The combination, with an apartment, of

a filtering-chamber containing dust-collect-c ing and moisture-absorbing material, an attemperating-chamber adapted to contain ice,

IIO

a source of steam-supply, a valved pipe connecting said source of steam-supply with said attemperating chamber, air pipes in the apartment, a valved pipe leading from said source of steam-supply and extending within said apartment-pipes,a pipe leading from said filtering-chamber having two branches, one branch extending through the attemperatingchamber to the apartment-pipes, and another branch leading direct to the apartment-pipes, moisture-distributing pipes in said filteringchamber, a valved pipe connecting said attemperating chamber with said filteringchamber,whereby Water may be supplied from the attemperating-chamber, an independent source of water-supply, and a valved pipe leading therefrom to the filtering-chamber.

, 3. The combination, with an apartment, of a chamber containing dust-collecting and moisture-absorbing material, an attemperating-chamber adapted to contain refrigerating material, air-pipes in the apartment,a source of steam-supply, a steam-pipe connected with the source of steam-supply and extending within the apartment-pipes, an air-conveying pipe connected with the filtering-chamber and having two branches, one branch being connected directly with the apartment-pipes and the other branch extending through the attemperating-chamber to the apartment, means for supplying moisture to the filtering materialand cutting 0% said supply, valves on the air-conveying pipe for regulating the fiow of air through each branch, and a device to force air through the filtering-chamber and the air-conveying pipe to the apartment, whereby the air may be filtered, moistened or dried to the desired extent, and warmed or cooled to the desired extent, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony of which invention I have hereunto set my hand at Philadelphia on this 6th day of June, 1901.

JOHN BRADY.

Witnesses:

M. F. ELLIS, G. I. HUTTON. 

